A Dialogue: Buddhism and the Stoics

“A stoic is a Buddhist with attitude.”
—Nassim Taleb

Is it possible that philosophies and religious traditions are saying the same thing?

Buddhism and the Greco Roman school of philosophy known as Stoicism have many striking similarities in both philosophy and practice. These parallels exist even though the two schools of thought almost certainly did not directly influence each other—they sprang up independently at about the same time but thousands of miles apart.
Both Buddhism and Stoicism aim at a deep form of human happiness.

Both are philosophies of life—they give us ways to achieve this happiness by giving us a coherent description of the structures of our minds and the structures of reality. They bring this abstract system to life by asking us to contemplate the transitory nature of life, ask us to reflect on experience and caution us against the toxic activities our minds seem to naturally pursue.

What is the nature of enlightenment? Is enlightenment the same as eudaimonia, the end goal of Ancient Greek philosophy? What are the structures of reality, and how do these structures parallel the structures of the human mind?

Bhante Kusala, a Sri Lankan monk in the Theravada tradition of Buddhism, will be in conversation with artist and religion scholar Michael Prettyman. Join us as we engage in an incredibly fruitful conversation and bring these two birthrights of humanity into dialogue.

**This Olio will be a fundraiser for the Pitabeddra village in Sri Lanka, which has been especially hard hit by the Covid virus. All proceeds from this Olio will go to purchase bags of dry food for people in need, and a little goes a long way. A donation of $20 will provide a family with a care package of food and medicine. This is an opportunity to directly impact those most in need, and have a great evening with a lot of interesting people.**